Wednesdays
by Rivendell101
Summary: "I'm in love with you," Lucy says suddenly, wetting her lips and shifting awkwardly, but no looking away from Natsu. Romeo nearly spits out his coffee. Natsu and Lucy want romance while on the job, Romeo just wants to finish his paper. And he thinks this might be against work protocol. / coffee shop au


**Wednesdays**

Romeo Conbolt is _not_ having a good day.

Of all the days in the week, Romeo's least favorite has to be Wednesday, for several very specific reasons. First of all, he's never liked the letter "W." It's just an upside down "M" and that frustrates him. Second of all, he hates the concept of "hump day," and thinks it's obnoxious. Though, that could very well be attributed to Chelia, considering the other girl found the phrase to be hilarious back in high school and would continuously crack jokes about it. Third, Wednesday is also the day he goes home to visit his parents, which is, as always, _delightful_. Now, he loves his parents, he really does, but he could do without the invasive questions and the yelling, which make up about eighty-six percent of conversations with his mother. _"When are you going to get a girlfriend, Romeo? I want grandchildren!"_ she says. _"Did you settle on a career choice, Romeo?"_ she asks. _"Have you thought about taking Totomaru's offer yet?"_ she asks. _"Did you put on clean underwear this morning?"_ she asks, his father laughing in the background. He doesn't know. No. Also, no. And yes, yes he did! He's not completely incompetent, despite what they may think. Fourth, he hates everyone's tired, half-assed optimism about how the week is _half_ over and there's only two more days of classes, as if the weekend won't be filled with studying and existential crisis's over a two A.M. paper and five cups of coffee while you're one source away from going batshit crazy and throwing a chair out the window.

Granted, he's only been witness to that last one once in his life, à la Sting Eucliffe, in what they affectionately refer to as the "Battle of the B-," in which Sting valiantly fought to keep his grade in Biology from slipping to a C, which would result in his mother and boyfriend finding out and killing him. That had been an interesting weekend, though, all things considered. He could have done without the property damage, but _oh well_. That, and Sting may or may not have been on a mushroom induced high at the time, which, quite frankly, explains _a lot_.

Romeo makes a face, nose wrinkling as he thinks about what a disaster that Saturday night was. He could have lived his entire life without knowing about the filtration process of the kidney, but he digresses. Now, Sting owes him a favor and that's all that really matters.

It's bittersweet, he thinks, how the week is half over, yet there's still two more days of exams and essays to worry about, followed by a weekend of filing paperwork and studying for more exams and more essays the next week. It's an unending cycle with no reprieve, and Wednesday just serves as a reminder of that. Wednesday is also the day of the week where he finally manages to peel his face away from his computer and realize he's accomplished absolutely nothing all week. _Delightful._

Apparently, he's a glass half-full kind of guy; at least, that's what Wendy tells him. Frankly, he doesn't care if he's being negative abut it. Wednesday is a terrible day, and there's absolutely nothing that could make him like it.

However, this Wednesday in particular is especially horrible, for three reasons.

Reason number one: Romeo was awake until the A.M. studying for a Biochemisty test worth thirty percent of his grade, which he absolutely needed to pass in fear of his mother strangling him in his sleep. Furthermore, he's tired, cranky, and hasn't had the opportunity to fully enjoy his coffee yet because it's too hot and burned his tongue. As such, he's in a pretty bad mood already.

Reason number two: it, apparently, snowed last night, which the weatherman neglected to mention earlier in the week. So now there's snow up to his knees, it's freezing outside, he missed the bus that would have dropped him off on campus, and in his rush to get out the door, he forgot to grab gloves and a warmer jacket. As such, he barely managed to shove on a pair of jeans and a mildly clean sweatshirt from that time in high school he accidentally joined the debate team.

Which leads to reason number three: his alarm didn't go off this morning and he was instead awoken twenty minutes before his exam by a frantic barrage of text messages courtesy of Chelia, who, luckily, happens to have the same class as him. So, fifteen minutes before his test from hell he scrambles out of bed and runs out the door in a panic because—not only is this test worth thirty percent of his final grade—Porlyusica is a total hardass that won't tolerate him being late. As soon as the clock hits eight, that door is going to be locked and Porlyusica is going to be cackling in his face.

In hindsight, and eight A.M. class was an incredibly stupid idea, but it was the only timeslot available for this _specific class_ with this _specific professor_. Yeah, well, next semester, Porlyusica can piss off, because Romeo is never again taking a class which requires him to be awake before ten o'clock in the morning. Despite the relatively quiet campus, the lack of sleep just isn't worth it.

His only solace is that he managed to grab coffee before he left, because he figures stopping to buy shitty, watered down Starbucks and having to run to class is better than not buying coffee, falling asleep in the middle of an exam, and getting an earful from his mom later tonight.

So, yeah. Romeo had been having a spectacular morning. The day has been an absolute blur, and perhaps that's how Romeo finds himself sitting in a tiny, hole in the wall coffee shop at ten-thirty at night, frantically working on an essay he completely forgot about. He kind of wants to cry, like, a lot, but the pretty blonde barista has given him two refills "on the house!" and he doesn't want to make trouble for her.

She's providing him with his caffeine fix for the night and letting him loiter, after all.

Though, he thinks she might be getting more out of this than he is, judging by the way he's unintentionally allowing her to avoid her distressed coworker, the punk in his History class. And he means that entirely unironically. The dude has more piercings than Romeo has fingers, spiky pink hair, an absurd amount of ink on the visible parts of his skin, and looks like he could break a chair over Romeo's head.

Looking at the two of them, Romeo would laugh if anyone suggested they were friends. The girl is all big eyes and pouty lips and too big sweater and too long scarf. She is, hands down, the most attractive woman he's ever seen, and Romeo's two best friends are subjectively attractive young ladies. And dye-job? Well, he looks intimidating and Romeo thinks he would probably piss himself if the dude glared at him.

But then Dye-job looks at her like he's seeing the moon and stars for the first time. He looks at her like she's something wonderful, and Romeo is thrown for a loop by the soft look in his eyes.

After blatantly staring at them for roughly ten minutes, Romeo comes to the conclusion that they're some king of star-crossed, Romeo and Juliet type couple. You know, sans the murder and suicide.

Dye-job sighs suddenly, and Romeo glances up from his laptop to see him lean into the girl, his cheek brushing against hers, chest flush to her back. Romeo blinks, surprised at the sudden intimacy, but even more surprised when the girl leans into Dye-job's chest. He thought she was avoiding him, or something? She hasn't even looked at her co-worker once since he walked in, and that was over six hours ago.

"Lucy," Dye-job murmurs, just loud enough for Romeo to hear if he concentrates, "would you just tell me what I did wrong, please?" Dye-job sounds desperate, almost-heartbroken when the girl, Lucy, shakes him off.

She returns his sigh, shoulders slumping in something like defeat, and pretends to fix a cup full of straws, fiddling with the tubes. "You didn't do anything, Natsu," she replies, though she doesn't look at him. "I'm fine." She flashes him a quick, awkward smile, then goes back to the perfect straws.

Romeo thinks he probably shouldn't stare like he is, but people-watching is a lot more entertaining than whatever the hell he's supposed to be writing about. He's just going to bullshit the essay anyway, so it's not like it matters. Besides, he deserves a break after writing—

He glances down at his screen.

—two pages and a footnote that says "wherever the fuck this came from."

Yeah, he's doing great.

Natsu breaks him out of his thoughts, a distressed growl coming from the older boy. "Clearly I did something," he argues, running a frustrated hand through his hair. His green eyes look almost pained when Lucy continues to ignore him. "Please, Lucy, just look at me." His voice cracks as he says it, and Romeo's pretty sure he's never seen someone look quite so heartbroken.

She does look at him, and her expression softens when she sees the stricken look on her friends face. Romeo watches in fascination as she tries to smile, leaning forward slightly to hear them better.

"Natsu, just drop it," she tells him, but her voice is weak, wobbly, as if she's halfway to crying her eyes out in the middle of a coffee shop on a Wednesday night (which doesn't sound like a bad plan to Romeo, but he digresses).

Natsu ducks his head to meet her gaze, hands coming up to cup her face. He looks down at her like she's something precious, something he needs to protect, and Romeo almost has to look away, feeling like he's intruding on something private—he is, but it's not his fault that they're doing this while he's still here.

"Talk to me," Natsu whispers, thumbs stroking her cheeks gently. "Please." Lucy starts to shake her head, eyes glossy, but Natsu coos at her, leaning his forehead against hers. "You've been upset since this morning," he murmurs, leaving Romeo to wonder how he knows that, "what's wrong?"

Lucy winces, but lets him cradle her jaw. "Nothing's wrong," she whispers back.

Romeo doesn't believe it, and he knows Natsu doesn't believe it, judging by the frustrated sound that pulls from the man's throat.

Natsu's throat bob's with a hard swallow. "Did I say something? Do something?" It's a loaded question, one that hangs heavy in the air and makes Romeo's coffee taste just a little more bitter.

For a moment, he wonders if he's read the situation wrong. Maybe he's about to witness a break-up. Romeo cringes at the thought, hoping that's not the case. He doesn't know these people, but he can see that they care about each other a lot, even if things are tense at the moment. Romeo has never been through a break-up, but he can imagine how it must feel, because Dye-job is looking at the barista like she's his entire world.

"No!" Lucy shouts suddenly, frantic gaze meeting Natsu's. He startles at her loudness, but doesn't release her. "No," she says again, softer this time. One of her hands comes up to cover his, her fingertips trembling as they brush against his skin. "It was Gray," she tells him after a long moment, gaze slipping away from Natsu's.

Romeo doesn't know who the hell Gray is, but he kind of wants to punch the dude in the face, and that's saying something, considering Romeo's something of a pacifist. However, Romeo's offense is _nothing_ compared to Natsu's.

The man goes rigid, his entire body tensing and his gaze sharpening with pure rage. There's a tick to his jaw, the muscle jumping as he clenches his teeth, and Romeo will swear up and down that the man just _growled_. "Gray did something?" he snarls, positively seething. "What the fuck did he do, Lucy?" Natsu asks, voice softening as she winces.

Romeo hears the unasked question: _Do you want me to kill him?_

"Nothing bad," Lucy responds, placating him. Her hands slip down to his chest, fingers twisting through the dark fabric slowly. She sends him a brief, unconvincing smile. "I just—" She cuts off suddenly, gaze dropping to the floor.

Natsu leans in so that his nose bumps against Lucy's, their breath mingling as he tilts Lucy's chin, gaze locking with hers. "Hey," he coos, gaze softer than his smile, "hey, you can tell me anything."

Romeo blushes, feeling like he's looking at something her shouldn't, kind of like the first time he watched porn on his dad's computer, only less arousing.

Lucy looks up at Natsu and smiles, but it's shaky, watery, like she's about to cry. Her voice makes an audible crack as her lips part. "I'm in love with you," she says suddenly, wetting her lips and shifting awkwardly, but no looking away from Natsu.

Romeo nearly spits out his coffee.

Natsu inhales sharply, hands slipping away from her. He stumbles back a step, eyes impossibly wide. Lucy flinches, looking like her heart's just been ripped out. Natsu stares back, lower lip trembling just the slightest. "H-how long?" he asks her, stumbling over his words.

Lucy looks three seconds away from crying, but manages a smile for him. "Since high school," she says simply. "The night of the Winter Formal."

Now, Romeo has no idea what happened at the Winter Formal, but judging by Natsu's reaction, something big happened. Something big and very, _very_ important.

Natsu stumbles backwards another step, backing right into the counter. "I… I have to—" He doesn't finish his sentence, bolting into the backroom without another word.

Romeo can only watch as Lucy's face crumples, expression absolutely shattered and heartbroken. For a moment, he considers standing up and helping her, but another, larger part of him wants to run away and pretend he didn't see anything. This is awkward and he feels terrible for watching this, but technically they probably shouldn't have been discussing this on the job in the first place.

But before he can tuck tail and run away like a coward, Natsu comes storming back through the doors. Lucy's head snaps up at the bang, the doors crashing against the wall. Natsu stares at her, expression serious and positively fierce.

"You know what?" he snarls, wetting his lips. "Fuck it." It takes two seconds for Natsu to walk over to Lucy, and Romeo chokes on his drink when the man grabs her by the waist and drags her in for a rough, messy kiss.

Romeo is pretty sure he's blushing.

Lucy squeaks in surprise, but melts into the kiss quickly, her hands flying up to fist in Natsu's hair. He sighs against her, kissing her harder, and Lucy's back arches into him, removing any sense of space between them. It's a sloppy kiss, noses bumping and hands groping, but neither appear to mind.

Suddenly, Lucy is lifted clear off the ground, Natsu's hands grasping at her thighs as he lifts her. Her legs wind around him and then he's placing her on the counter, his back to Romeo, who can only stare in vague horror at what's happening.

He hears Lucy gasp and then Natsu's hands are tugging at the hem of her shirt, fingers teasing her skin. His mouth rips away from hers with a wet sound and then his face disappears against her neck. Lucy inhales sharply, a breathy moan leaving her lips as Natsu kisses down her neck, nipping and sucking at the pale skin left bare to him.

Yeah, Romeo definitely shouldn't be watching this. Not even a little bit. But he can't look away, it's like watching a strange, kind of sexy train wreck.

He takes it back, this is exactly like the time he used his dad's computer to watch porn.

Suddenly, there's a strange, leather on metal scrapping sound, and Romeo sees Lucy's hands slide down Natsu's chest, moving lower and lower until—oh God, is she taking off his belt?

Romeo must make a sound, because Lucy's eyes snap open, her entire body going tense as Natsu continues to peruse her neck. Her eyes lock with Romeo's, a deep blush immediately coating her cheeks and spreading down her neck.

"Natsu," she gasps, suddenly whacking at his shoulder. "Natsu, stop!" He pulls away from her immediately, a horrible, wet sucking sound filling the air. Romeo can't see his face, but he can imagine the concern there.

"What?" the man breathes back, _panting_. He twists around to follow Lucy's gaze, face paling when he catches sight of Romeo. "Oh, shit," he murmurs.

Awkwardly wetting his lips, Romeo pretends he doesn't see the hickies already coloring Lucy's neck.

They all stare for an absurd amount of time, not blinking, not moving, just staring. "I didn't see anything," Romeo blurts, feeling his face burn with the lie. He's going to have to bleach his eyes later. And he'll probably never be able to come back here without acting weird. Oh shit, he has class with Natsu tomorrow! "Keep doing what you're doing." He winces, wanting to smack himself for saying that, but instead he awkwardly goes back to his paper.

He spends the rest of his time working on his paper and pretending not to hear them whispering sweet nothings to each other, stealing kisses when they think he isn't watching. Admittedly, it's kind of adorable, and he can't help but be happy for them, even if he does feel a tad unwelcome.

By eleven, he's packing up to leave, halfway out the door when Lucy stops him with a shy hand on his shoulder. He looks at her, confused, but she merely smiles and hands him a paper bag that's warm and sweet-smelling.

She's gone before he can thank her, and it's not until he's almost home that he realizes it's a scone.

Maybe Wednesdays aren't so bad.


End file.
